OM Roy Memorial, Shillong, Meghalaya won the U-17 Boy's title of the 54th Subroto Cup football tournament in spectacular fashion, after outplaying Magurmari High School, Kokrajhar, Assam 4-0 in a thrilling final at the Ambedkar Stadium here today.
Mebanshan Suting scored for Meghalaya in the 35th minute while Nongrud Jefforson (46th min), Kynter Lenningston (61st min) and Kurbah Michaelson (69th min) found the net after the break.
This was the second time after 1978 that a team from Meghalaya has won the U-17 Boys' title. On the other hand, this was the fifth time a team from Assam has appeared in the final.
The first half saw a battle of equals before Suting gave Meghalaya the lead a minute before the break with a beautiful attempt from the top of the box which found the top corner.
The goal seemed to lift the spirits of the Meghalaya players and they dominated the second half. Nongrud doubled the lead with a nice diving header off a cross from the left a few minutes after the restart. Kynter Leningstar scored the third goal with a wonderful long range effort.
Assam continued to fight on and their striker Kapil forced a fine save from Meghalaya goal keeper Sten Banshanlal in the 65th minute with a well taken effort from the top of the box.
An unmarked Kurbah Michaelson drove the final nail in Assam's coffin, scoring with a header after being fed by Nongrud Jefferson.
For the first time in the history of Subroto Cup, I-League clubs have shown interest in scouting talented young players from the tournament with spotters from Shillong Lajong and Pune FC selecting 15 boys. These boys will be sent for trials with these two clubs.
